"Be a scientist, don't be a negro anymore....be a scientist."
-Minister Louis Farrakhan

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Why The Republicans Are Wrong About Susan Rice

by FX

At the time of Susan Rice was being considered for the Secretary of State post by President Barack Obama, there were scores of African Americans in government and within the masses who were excited for her nomination. Rice supporters were gearing up to defend her from Republican attacks during her nomination hearings. However the heat from the Republicans targeting of Susan Rice’s Secretary of State nomination was substantial enough that Rice herself withdrew her nomination. In a letter penned by Rice to President Obama, she writes “...the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly...”. What was sure to be behind the scenes plans, President Obama brilliantly navigated past the confirmation process by picking Susan Rice for a role that is almost identical to the earlier Secretary of State post, that being National Security Advisor. The Republicans now mouth opened and defied, have upped their attacks against Rice among others for their role in the bungling of the Benghazi siege in Libya that left U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens dead. However Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the then U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice may or may not have bungled the Benghazi siege remains to be seen. The Republicans attacks have two faces. First to play up the Democrat versus Republican political dance and secondly criticism of Susan Rice for the Benghazi situation is used as a cover for their sexism and racism.

The chief complaint from the Republicans towards Susan Rice is that she is unqualified to be National Security Advisor, that her methods are according to Senator John McCain “...not very bright...”, she’s been called the “President’s pet..” and a liar who deliberately misled the American people.

Are these attacks against Susan Rice racial? Of course, it is racial within the same context of the attacks and blockages the majority white Republicans commit against President Barack Obama. Are the Republican attacks against Susan Rice sexist? Of course they are, the males who oppose Susan Rice are not immune to the psychological barrier that keeps them from respecting and submitting to the intelligence, tenacity and blunt style of Susan Rice in a realm dominated by males. It is obvious that a man with Susan Rice’s famed coarse “attitude” is deemed a professional and a no-nonsense leader, however when a woman like Susan Rice embodies these very same traits, she is obviously a bitch. The classic dichotomy and double standard of existence for women as they work their way throughout formerly male dominated areas. Factor in that Susan Rice is a Black Woman and it is the perfect storm.

Susan Rice has an amazing mind, very professional with an intelligence that makes her highly qualified to be National Security Advisor. Her academic achievements are remarkable, her knowledge of international politics is comparable to any white male that is opposing her nomination. President Barack Obama has lauded Susan Rice for her "...fierce champion for justice and liberty..." He went on to say that Susan Rice is "...a great patriot, fearless and tough...". Summing up Susan Rice's accomplishments President Obama stated:

"As our Ambassador to the U.N., Susan has been a tireless advocate in advancing our interests. She has reinvigorated American diplomacy, in New York. She has helped to put in place tough sanctions on Iran and North Korea. She has defended Israel. She has stood up for innocent civilians, from Libya to Cote d’Ivoire. She has supported an independent South Sudan. She has raised her voice for human rights, including women’s rights."

It is obvious she is all that and then some. Republicans need not fear a Susan Rice as National Security Advisor. Why? Because she is well qualified in advancing U.S. imperialism, war and exploitation as well as any white male Republican can do or has ever done. Rice's liberal war hawk tendencies is itself an adherence to a foreign policy that was crafted decades ago, by rich white males.

As Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs for the Clinton Administration Susan Rice embodied the U.S.’s support many of Africa’s brutal un-democratic, despotic leaders. She was even instrumental in the U.S. inaction in the face of the Rwandan crisis which to her credit she regretted to this day stating: “I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required.”. As U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice pushed for an African Command (AFRICOM), the U.S. military presence on the continent to ensure American interests are enforced. Her vehement stance on these issues made many African officials strongly dislike Susan Rice and bemoan her ascendency to the National Security Advisor.

Whether Susan Rice as an African American has any affinity towards Africa, her foreign policy falls right in line with the legacy of her Rhodes Scholarship, named after one of Afrika's most brutal colonialists Englishman Cecil Rhodes. From her childhood Susan Rice was raised on acquiescence to the culture and agendas of the U.S. elites first taught to her by her father, Emmitt Rice the first Black Governor of the Federal Reserve and a World Bank director. It is realistic to assert that the rich elites have known of her all her life.

This is what many ultra-conservative whites don’t get that liberal whites understand fully.

What liberal whites have learned is that when Black people are trained properly their "skin color" really doesn't matter for they will advance the rich white elites agenda just as good and sometimes better than whites themselves, why? Those Black people are in effect pedigreed so they become entrusted to operate within the confines of European dominated institutions, one of which as an example is the Council on Foreign Relations to which Susan Rice is a member. The Council on Foreign Relations is an American extension of a British foreign policy institution the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The Council is one of the main constituents of the CIA and thus a navigator of U.S. foreign policy.

Afrikan people particularly Afrikan Americans need to analyze Susan Rice for what she is. The negative result of Black America’s blinding foray and total assimilation and integration into caucasian/white ethos. As an African American who has “made it to the top”, her journey was facilitated not just by her obvious intelligence and determination not to let what she is hinder her but her also her willingness to acquiesce to white western imperialist expansion and its' justification upon people of color. In an ironic way Susan Rice is the Democrats CONDOLEEZZA RICE. Just as Condoleezza RICE was instrumental in the foreign policy of the Bush Administration and it’s unjust, horrible bombing of Iraq, Susan RICE is instrumental in the violent destabilization of Libya, Syria and potentially (or eventually) Iran. All of this is in addition to her unmoving defense of the colony state of Israel and its' oppression heaped upon the Palestinians. The Rice sisters may not be related but they have tons of similarities.

Some of my feminist sisters may get angry with me or chalk my views of Susan Rice to the usual terminology and descriptions feminists would have for a male they think is conveying some type of sexist vitriol towards a woman and her success. But my vision of women’s liberation is not Hillary Clinton, Samantha Power and Susan Rice consistently administering the globalization of the planet with unjust wars, crippling sanctions and lies. My vision of women’s liberation is one where the very women liberating themselves from oppressive patriarchy ultimately fights to free all “human beings” from all forms of oppression, not to add to it. However it’s not my place to say what feminism should be because frankly, I'm a man.

If Black people are only enamored by mere college degrees, memberships in predominantly or totally all white organizations or fields then the main message of the Civil Rights Movement is missed. The interesting part being that these very same Black folks will constantly quote and look to that struggle for inspiration. Among the numerous noble objectives of the Civil Rights Movement, helping white folks bomb the shit out of the rest of the world was never it. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

Susan Rice is one in a very long line of dangerous Black people. Those who have totally immersed themselves into white elite society and willingly advances its' march towards the ultimate goal, global manifest destiny. Their danger is that Black people like her get a pass simply because she is Black thus her negatives and others like her will be ignored by far too many Black people.